Hallice Cooke becomes Iowa State's latest impact transfer

Hallice Cooke (3) drives up court as Washington's Mike Anderson, left, and Desmond Simmons in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Seattle. Washington won 87-81

Hallice Cooke (3) drives up court as Washington's Mike Anderson, left, and Desmond Simmons in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Seattle. Washington won 87-81. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

The program most synonymous with winning with transfers has made another impact addition.

Hallice Cooke, whose revealed last month he was leaving Oregon State, announced Monday via Instragram that he is transferring to Iowa State. The 6-foot-3 combo guard will have to sit out next season but will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in fall 2015.

The addition of Cooke is potentially significant for Iowa State if he can build on a successful freshman year at Oregon State. Cooke averaged 8.2 points and 2.6 assists and shot a scorching 45.6 percent from behind the arc, supplanting junior Challe Barton in the Oregon State starting lineup early in Pac-12 play.

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It's easy to see why Iowa State would be an attractive destination for Cooke given the program's style of play and recent transfer-fueled success.

Coach Fred Hoiberg's team hoisted 840 3-pointers last season, easily the most in the Big 12 and the sixth most in the nation. The Cyclones have also reached the NCAA tournament the past three seasons under Hoiberg, making the Sweet 16 last season after back-to-back round of 32 losses the previous two years.

As if a winning track record and a system that fits him weren't drawing cards enough, Cooke could also feel comfortable that Hoiberg has a history of succeeding with transfers. From Royce White, to Will Clyburn, to Korie Lucious, to Chris Allen, to Deandre Kane, there are a long list of players who made the most of their second chance at Iowa State.

That Cooke's departure comes hours after Oregon State officially announced Wayne Tinkle as its new coach is a blow to the Beavers. Tinkle now knows he will have no returning starters from an underachieving team that finished a middling 16-16 last year.

Three days after Oregon State's NCAA tournament hopes ended with an opening-round Pac-12 tournament loss to rival Oregon in mid-March, Cooke expressed frustration at the Beavers' place in the national pecking order.

"Smh I gotta know what that NCAA tourney feels like ASAP," he tweeted. "There's nothing more important than the NCAA tourney."

There was little chance he'd experience that anytime soon at struggling Oregon State. Transferring to Iowa State, however, gives Cooke a great chance to someday play on college basketball's biggest stage.